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MarshfieldAreaSports.com
GLENWOOD CITY – The Spencer/Columbus offense, led by senior running back Hunter Luepke and a powerful offensive line, continued its assault with a 44-21 victory over Glenwood City in a nonconference football game Friday night at Glenwood City High School.
Luepke rushed 20 times for 235 yards and scored five touchdowns for the Rockets, who finish the regular season with an 8-1 record.
Luepke had a 71-yard touchdown run and Jarred Mandel threw a 56-yard TD pass to Hayden Bauman to put Spencer/Columbus up 14-0 after one quarter.
Glenwood City came back in the second with a pair of touchdowns and the Rockets led 20-13 at halftime before putting the game away.
Luepke had TD runs of 27, 68 and 2 yards, and Carson Hildebrandt added a 1-yard scoring run in the second half as Spencer/Columbus pulled away.
The Rockets piled up 555 total yards, 348 coming on the ground. Bauman had six touches (four carries and two receptions) for 182 yards, and Mandel threw for 207 yards in the victory.
“I was proud of our second-half effort,” Spencer/Columbus coach Jason Gorst said. “We came out and did not block or tackle well early. Glenwood City is a quality team and played hard all game. Jarred (Mandel) and Hayden (Bauman) really took a step forward tonight.”
Spencer/Columbus earned a No. 3 seed and hosts No. 6 Oconto in a WIAA Division 5 Level 1 playoff game Oct. 20 at Spencer High School. The winner faces either Amherst or Colby on Oct. 27.
Rockets 44, Hilltoppers 21
Spencer/Columbus 14 6 12 12 – 44
Glenwood City 0 13 0 8 – 21
First Quarter
SC – Hunter Luepke 71 run (Colton Schillinger kick), 7:55.
SC – Hayden Bauman 56 pass from Jarred Mandel (Co. Schillinger kick), 5:15.
Second Quarter
GC – Jake Nelson 7 pass from Pete Hill (Tucker Lagerstrom kick), 11:17.
GC – Nelson 71 run (kick blocked), 7:19.
SC – Luepke 5 run (kick failed), 6:33.
Third Quarter
SC – Luepke 27 run (conversion failed), 7:36.
SC – Luepke 68 run (kick failed), 3:33.
Fourth Quarter
SC – Luepke 2 run (kick failed), 7:33.
SC – Carson Hildebrandt 1 run (kick blocked), 5:13.
GC – Dakota Dean-Immerman 1 run (Dean-Immerman run), 1:38.
Team Statistics
First downs: Spencer/Columbus 22; Glenwood City 14.
Rushing (att-yards): SC 36-348; GC 50-232.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): SC 7-14-207-2; GC 4-5-103-1.
Total yards: SC 555; GC 335.
Fumbles (total-lost): SC none; GC 2-2.
Penalties (no.-yards): SC 3-20; GC none.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: SC, Hunter Luepke 20-235, Hayden Bauman 4-92, Carson Hildebrandt 7-31, Bubba Post 1-3, Austin Bacon 3-minus 2, Jarred Mandel 1-minus 11. GC, Jake Nelson 18-129, Jacob Kopacz 13-61, Dakota Dean-Immerman 15-39, Dan Loring 1-4, Carson Strong 1-0, Pete Hill 2-minus 1.
Passing: SC, Mandel 7-14-207-2. GC, Hill 4-5-41-1.
Receiving: SC, Hildebrandt 3-62, Bauman 2-90, Lukas Ellefson 1-37, Luepke 1-18. GC, Kopacz 2-25, Nelson 2-16.
Interceptions (defense): SC, Ethan Meece. GC, Nelson, Hill.
Punting: SC, Luepke 1-26.0. GC, No. 56 3-33.7.
Records: Spencer/Columbus Catholic 8-1; Glenwood City 4-5.